Railway-spike



(No Model.)

D. SERVIS. l RAILWAYSPIKE. yi No. 455,362. Patented July 7, 18.91.

Wnedad A Unirse STATES PATi-nvr OFFICE.

DAVID SERVIS, CF IVEEDSPORT, NEI/V YORK.

RAILWAY-SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,362, dated July 7, 1891. Application filed July 29. 1890. Serial No. 361,391. (No model.)

To all whom, t iii/ay concern.'

Be it known that I, DAVID SERVIS, a citizen y of the United States, residing` at XVeedsport, in the county-of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improveinents in Railway-Spikes, of which the following 1s a specification.

My invention relates to that form and class of railway-spikes such as are in general use for the purpose of securing the railsof railways to the ties thereof upon which they are carried, and has for its several objects, first, the aun to prevent the tendency of Athe railway-spike being crowded back or away from the edge of the base of the rail by any irregular or constant lateral pressure exerted against it by the rail; second, to provide for the support of the edges of the bases of the rails, so they may not Wear or cut by attritlon into the surfaces of the ties to which they are spiked, and thus provide against any tendency of the rails to tip or cant; third, to provide against the lifting or loosening of the spikes in the ties by the edges of the bases of the rails caused from the side-thrusts of the saine. The said forms of derangement to the permanent stability of the rails upon the ties of the railway-spikes holdand to the iixity ing the same thereon are engendered not only from the jar of the rolling-stock passing on the rails and to imperfect placement of the ties in the road-bed, but principally to the side strokes, lateral pressure, or thrustings of the flanges of the car-wheels against the inner edges of the rails, which said forms of derangement it is the aim of the several objects of my invention, as already stated, to

counteract and overcome, and thus provide against any tendency of the rails to spread, cant, or otherwise become disarranged to the endangering of the rolling stock passing thereon. Y n

My invention, so far as its mechanical aspects are concerned, is coniined principally to a peculiar formation of the under surface of the head of the railway-spike, the said formation having relation to the driving of the said railway-spike into the tie in a diagonal direction or at an angle therein tending under the rail and toward a vertical Vline drawn through the center of said rail.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, comprising two figures, in Whiche- Figure l is a perpendicular side view of the spike in section, and Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of a railand a longitudinal section of the tie, to which it is shown secured at one edge of its baseby my improved spike.

Similarletters refer to similatl parts throughout the two views.

Referring to the drawings, A, Figs. l and 2, is the under side of the inner part of the head H of the spike next to the rail F, and is formed approximately at a right angle to the body C of the spike.

B is the under side of the outer part of the head H of the spike farthest from the rail F,

angles to an imaginary horizontal line drawn' through the center of the head H from its inner edge next to the rail F to its outer edge. D Eare the upper surfaces of the base K of the rail F, and G is the railway-tie.

Indrivingthe spike C the operator regulates the adaptation of the under side of the inner part A of the spike-head H to the Varying angles -of the upper surfaces D E of the base K of the rail F by sinking the under side of the outer part B of the spike-head H into the tie G a greater or less distance, as may be found necessary to bring the under side of the inner part A of the spike-head H into place.V Under this procedure it will lbe perceived that thev compression of the Wood liber of the tie G under the under side of the outer part B of thespike-head H serves to assist in giving a much firmer support thereto.

It will be apparent by t-he above arrangement of the spike in the tie G, with reference to the rail F and the contact-points of the under surfaces of the head With the surface of the base of the rail and With the surface of the tie, that the lateral strain exerted on the body of the spike is resisted by the surface of the tie bearing against the under surface B of the spike-head H instead of by the mutilated iibrons ends forming the Walls madeby the driving of thespikeinto the tie. By thisv IOO resistance afforded against any lateral movement of the spike the fibrous matter of the tie, Where the spike is driven, is prevented from Wear and the hole formed by the spike from enlargement, and consequently the spike is prevented from being lifted or loosened by the rail, and itsA holding -power uniformly maintained.

The tendency of the rail to cant from the side-thrusts against its inner edge of the flanges of the car-wheels passing thereon is met and overcome as follows: 'lhe body of the spike being driven into the tie at an inclination under the center of the rail, as already described*7 will receive the vertical or downward pressureof the outer edge of the base of the rail, and at the same timeA receive support from the bearing of the under surface B of the head H on the surface of the tie G. This arrangement tends to the prevention of the sinking and consequent wearing of the thin edge of the base of the rail into the surface of the tie, thus preventing the loosening and canting of othe rail.

here the railway-rails are jointed by angle-plates,my improvement comes into special use. In ordinary practice the spikes on such occasion are 11e-enforced by having wedges driven back of them. Itwill be at once evident that the use of Wedges becomes unnecessary where my spike is used, as the under surface B of the head I-I and the diagonal driving of the spike into the tie preserves the integrity of the spikein position and its holding-power at all times, as has been already described, and thus renders the use of spikewedges, rail-braces', tie wear-plates, and other like appliances superuous.

Having thus described my invention, its several parts, its utility, and the workings thereof, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

As an article' of manufacture, a railwayspike having a head projecting' from the back of the spike C, and the under face B of said head made at an upwardly-inclined angle to the body of the said spike C, and also having a head projecting from the front ofthe spike C, with the under face A of said head made at a rightangle to the body of said spike C, the whole constructed and combined for joint operation substantially as herein described and specified. y

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 23d day of July, A. D. 1890, at Auburn, county ot' Cayuga, and State of New York,

DAVID SERVIS.

In presence of- H. B. FAY, H. N. LEMMON. 

